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Making law in mid-eighteenth-century England: legal statutes and their application in the justicing notebook of Phillip Ward of Stoke Doyle

Gray, D. (2013) Making law in mid-eighteenth-century England: legal statutes and their application in the justicing notebook of Phillip Ward of Stoke Doyle. The Journal of Legal History. 34(2), pp. 211-233. 0144-0365.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: This article analyses the notebook of an eighteenth-century magistrate, Philip Ward. As Ward was especially diligent in recording the rationale behind his decision-making, it offers a unique insight into the summary process. The article considers the nature of the business that Ward dealt with and the amount of discretion he exercised in making his decisions. Throughout it draws upon the growing body of work on the role of the magistracy in the eighteenth century while also engaging with the long standing debate about the use of the law in the period. Importantly, since Ward was operating before Richard Burn published the first edition of his guide for JPs this particular magistrate drew upon his own legal experience and his father’s extensive law library. So while Ward was not making up the law as he went along he was working out how to apply it to the hearings that came before him. Thus this article will be of keen interest to historians of crime and the law as well as those interested in the social relations of the period
Uncontrolled Keywords: JP, justice of the peace, Oundle, Ward, crime, summary justice, law
Subjects: K Law > KD England and Wales
H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV7231 Criminal justice administration
K Law > K Law (General) > K2100 Courts. Procedure
D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > DA498 1714-1760
Creators: Gray, Drew
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > School of Social Sciences (to 2016)
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Education & Humanities > History
Faculties > Faculty of Education & Humanities > History
Date: August 2013
Date Type: Publication
Page Range: pp. 211-233
Journal or Publication Title: The Journal of Legal History
Volume: 34
Number: 2
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01440365.2013.810386
ISSN: 0144-0365
Status: Published / Disseminated
Refereed: Yes
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/5414

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